Prelude Christ, the Life of all the Living Flor Peeters
Welcome And Opening Prayer
Hymn Tell Me the Story of Jesus
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus
sang as they welcomed his birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Fasting alone in the desert,
tell of the days that are past,
how for our sins he was tempted,
yet was triumphant at last.
Tell of the years of his labor,
tell of the sorrow he bore,
he was despised and afflicted,
homeless, rejected and poor.
Tell of the cross where they nailed him,
writhing in anguish and pain;
tell of the grave where they laid him,
tell how he liveth again.
Love in that story so tender
clearer than ever I see;
stay, let me weep while you whisper,
“Love paid the ransom for me.”
Confession of Sin/Assurance of Pardon
God of love,
We forget the beginning of the story—
That we were made from love, to be love, to give love.
Instead of rooting our narrative in the goodness refrain of creation,
We skip ahead and find our worth at the fall,
With Cain and Abel, lost in the wilderness.
We forget that first there was you, and you are love.
We forget that out of that love you created us.
We forget that from the very first day, you loved first.
We forget, because a love like that doesn’t make sense to us.
Forgive our low self-esteem.
Forgive our resistance to love ourselves.
Forgive our hesitation to trust that even we could be made good.
And forgive our tendency to pass that doubt on—from generation to generation.
Write a new beginning for us that roots our confidence in your unrelenting love.
With hope we pray, again and again. Amen. (silent confession)
Scripture Reading John 3:14-21
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
Sermon “Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?” Pastor Margo Walter
Offertory Dear Lord and Father of mankind C. Hubert H. Parry
Confession of Faith
We believe God is love—
Unconditional, constant love.
We believe this love exists for all,
Choosing each and every one of us,
Day after day,
Again and again and again.
We believe that God’s love is like a river.
Rivers cannot help but flow toward the sea;
God’s love cannot help but move toward us.
We are swimming in it.
We believe that God loved first.
We believe that God breathed life into dust.
We believe that God said, “This is good,”
And because we believe that God loved first,
We strive to build lives that reflect God’s love.
May we begin again here. Amen.
Lenten Testimony Megan Hein
Hymn Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us?
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
much we need thy tender care;
in thy pleasant pastures feed us,
for our use thy folds prepare:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast bought us, thine we are;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast bought us, thine we are.
We are thine, do thou befriend us,
be the guardian of our way;
keep thy flock, from sin defend us,
seek us when we go astray:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
hear, O hear us when we pray;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
hear, O hear us when we pray.
Thou hast promised to receive us,
poor and sinful though we be;
thou hast mercy to relieve us,
grace to cleanse, and power to free:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
early let us turn to thee;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
early let us turn to thee.
Early let us seek thy favor,
early let us do thy will;
blessed Lord and only Savior,
with thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast loved us, love us still;
blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
thou hast loved us, love us still.
Pastoral Prayer/The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Benediction
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